Winter Again
by Sarnia Nereid
Summary: Scorpius and Rose have some loose ends.


**A/N: I realize I haven't uploaded anything for...I don't know, a year? This year I've been really busy with schoolwork and have hardly had a chance for any writing at all. I have officially given up on multi-chapter stories, unless I end up writing a long piece and decide to split it up.**

**About the story: This is loosely based off of a song I was just listening to. Kudos to anyone who can guess what song it is.**

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Scorpius lay back in his armchair, closing his eyes as he tried to relieve the stress of the day. Lately the quality of his work had dropped drastically, so now just keeping his job at St. Mungo's was difficult.

Al's voice floated through his head.

"Scor, you can't stay like this forever. Cheer up or get out of here so we don't have to watch you mope." That was what he had always said when Scor and Rose fought back at Hogwarts, a frequent occurrence, though they could rarely stand it for more than a day.

He and Al used to be friends until last winter's events had caused Albus to feel obliged to sever connections with him. Scorpius understood, of course, but without his two closest friends he felt like his life was spiraling out of control.

He stared at the coffee table. A little box sat there, untouched since he had thrown it there last year. He knew what was inside of it; a simple ring, with a small diamond set in the top. He'd been meaning to give it to Rose, but by the time he had worked up the courage it was too late.

Sighing, he turned to look out the window at the snowy street, only to see a bushy red head making it's way up to his flat. A tentative knock followed, and Scorpius stood and went to the door. After looking through the window to make sure it was who he thought it was, he opened the door.

There was Rose, her voluminous mass of bright red hair only partially contained by the chunky wool hat she wore. He had almost forgotten the details about her; just how red her hair was, how many freckles were on her face, the quirky, mismatched way she dressed.

Almost, but not entirely.

The door opened sooner than she had expected, and Rose took an involuntary step back, taking in the sight of Scorpius Malfoy. He hadn't changed a bit; same effortless, messy hair, top buttons undone. But his usual cocky grin was replaced with an unreadable expression, like he wasn't exactly sure how he felt.

"Rose?" he said.

"Hey," Rose said quietly, staring at the trampled snow on his porch.

"Hey," he responded. After a beat, he said, "Want to come in?"

"I'll only be here for a minute," Rose told him. But she followed him inside, wiping her boots on the mat and leaning against the wall in the entry way.

Scorpius closed the door before standing across from her, crossing his arms.

An awkward silence ensued. Rose stared at her feet, red curls falling over her face. Scorpius, watching her and remembering just why he had liked those red curls so much, finally broke the silence."It's been a while."

Rose nodded. Taking a deep breath, she began; "Look, I've been meaning to come by here, and I have to leave for France in two days, so I just thought...I-I want to apologize."

Scorpius opened his mouth. Finding his voice, he said, "Apologize?"

"Yeah. For last year." Gaining confidence, she continued. "I know what I said was really uncalled for and I'm really sorry for that. I didn't mean any of it." Her voice became hesitant again. "Sometimes I wish..." she cut off abruptly, looking down again. This wasn't the time for nostalgia.

Scorpius, knowing what she had been about to say, shook his head. "What's done is done. I appreciate the apology, though."

Biting her lip, Rose nodded. "Well, I guess I'll be going then." Pulling her hat over her ears, she opened the door and stepped out into the snow. As Scorpius watched her trudging down the path, he was reminded of last year, watching her run down the same path and out the gate. He had considered running after her, but his stubbornness had prevented from it.

This event had reopened an old wound that had never really healed. Could he stand another year without Rose? It would be so easy to just let her go, keep living the same life he'd been living for a year. He imagined Rose reentering his life. Potter/Weasley family gatherings, snowball fights and cozy evenings, Rose cleaning up the clutter that had accumulated in his flat over the past two years while Scorpius sat on the couch and grumbled. Until now, he hadn't remembered just how much he'd missed Rose.

She was nearing the gate. Run after her, he told himself. You regretted not doing it last time.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't been hurt by her words as much as the fact that she left him. And he would continue to be hurt unless he did something about it.

It's now or never,he thought. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the box from the coffee table and ran after her.

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**Helpful criticism would be great if you review. Thanks for reading!**


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